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Reputation image from Fallout: New Vegas.
 
“

My Legion obeys me, even unto death. Why? Because they live to serve the greater good, and they know of no alternatives.

”— ,

Caesar's Legion is an autocratic, ultra-reactionary, utilitarian based on that of the old , founded in by Edward Sallow, later known as , and , and led by Caesar since that time. Its legionaries are a well-organized, culturally insular fighting force that, as of , mainly operate east of the and the , in the former states of Arizona and New Mexico with much of Utah and Colorado. Their capital is the city of . Ultimately, Caesar's Legion isn't the Roman Empire or the Roman Republic or even its military, the Legion. It is a slave army with trappings of foreign-conscripted Roman legionaries during the late empire. All military, no civilian, and with none of the supporting civilian culture.

The Caesar's Legion is comprised mostly of reconditioned tribals and their descendants. The Legion's symbol is a golden bull on a red field which is derived from 's standard for the .

The Legion's ultimate goal is to conquer NCR and establish a new order, akin to the Roman Empire, complete with the transformation of the Legion from a marauding army into a domestic military force.

Contents

[] Background

Main articles: ,

and fellow along with seven other members were sent east to study tribal languages. Along the way, they met New Canaanite missionary , who was a specialist in tribal dialects. Not long after meeting up with Graham, all ten men were captured by the and held for ransom. At the time, the tribe was pitched in a losing war against seven other tribes in the area.

Unwilling to be destroyed along with them, Sallow chose to use his knowledge to train the Blackfoot tribe in the art of warfare after witnessing their lack of knowledge. He showed them how to clean and maintain guns, operate with small unit tactics, create their own explosives and strike at their weakest enemies first, using the strategy of divide et impera (divide and conquer). He quickly impressed the Blackfoot enough that he was made their leader, taking the name "" in the style of the Dictator of the Roman Republic,

He also introduced the concept of to the tribes around them. They defeated the weakest of their enemies first, the . Once they had been conquered, Caesar ordered every man, woman and child put to death. When they confronted the next tribe, the , they brought an emissary back to view the carnage. Caesar knew that though the tribes had always fought each other in occasional skirmishes, he considered them to be only "playing at war". The concept of total war was an entirely new and terrifying aspect of Caesar's strategy to which the tribals were unaccustomed, eventually growing to form the core of the Legion's tactics and worldview. Eventually, all seven tribes were either destroyed or incorporated into Caesar's Legion.

What Caesar gave to the tribes was order, discipline and a common culture divorced entirely from their indigenous roots. The price of this new identity was the destruction of their old lives: tribal women, children and the elderly often suffered death, old tribal ways were abolished, traditional shamanistic beliefs and clan bonds were destroyed completely and replaced with the newly-inculcated fascist values of Caesar and his Legates.

[] Caesar's Rise

Caesar and Joshua Graham, now known as "the ", used the power base they established to attack and press more tribes into the Legion. For decades, they fought and absorbed lesser tribes, erasing tribal identities and shaping them into a massive, fanatically-loyal army that in Caesar's eyes embodied the concept of the ideal post-nuclear society. By , the Legion had conquered dozens of tribes and become by far the largest and most dangerous group east of the Colorado river. They clashed with the in and nearly crushed them before the Desert Rangers integrated into the as part of the .

In , the Legion advanced westward toward and made camp at the . Composed of 68 assimilated tribes, the army sought to take control of the Dam and make Colorado Caesar's Rubicon. It is there that it clashed with the . The Republic has the dubious distinction of being recognized by Caesar as a worthy opponent. Under the command of the Malpais Legate, Legion forces marched against the NCR garrison at , in an attempt to take the strategic asset and river crossing. In what became known as the , the Malpais Legate initially had the upper hand. The Legate was able to push the NCR defenders back and lead his forces over the dam. Lead elements of the NCR, including members of the Battalion and , executed a tactical retreat west across the dam and into , all the while using their marksmanship prowess to kill the Legion officers (primarily , and ). The Legate, unable to adapt his strategies in combat due to his failure to see the deception unfolding in front of him, chose to order his legionaries to push the Rangers, not knowing the NCR had booby-trapped Boulder City with along their line of retreat and within the city itself. When the Legion forces entered the city, the NCR Rangers detonated the explosives and inflicted severe casualties among the Legion forces, halting their offensive. NCR troops mounted a counter-attack, repelling and eventually routing surviving Legion forces from the dam back east over the Colorado River. Caesar, enraged at the failure of the Malpais Legate, made an gruesome example of him and his error. The covered the Legate in pitch, set him on fire, and cast him into the depths of the . Caesar forbade mention of his true name, and now is spoken of only in the hushed whispers of the lowest Legionaries and slaves, who call him the . Rumors abound that the Burned Man survived his punishment as a malevolent spirit who haunts the wastes surrounding the Canyon.

By , Caesar's Legion re-established its power in the west, rebuilt its army, and slowly encroached on the city of . The Legion continues to contest NCR control over the entirety of the New Vegas region, having destroyed several NCR bases such as and , and overrun the NCR town of during various skirmishes and battles along the Colorado River. A new ferociously-cruel legate, Legate Lanius, has taken command following the discharge of his predecessor. Sometime before the , Caesar's Legion has conquered a new tribe under the command of Centurion , bringing the number of subjugated tribes to 87.

[] Organization

A Caesar's Legion camp

The Legion proper is first and foremost a slave army, the sole owner of which is . As Caesar conquers the peoples of the wasteland, he strips them of their tribal identities and merges them into his forces. There is no other tribe than the Legion itself. The people the Legion rules over are not considered part of the army. They are essentially subjects, living in the cities under its control. They are not considered slaves and are free to do whatever they wish, as long as they do not interfere with Legion operations or endanger its position.

[] Military organization

Main article:

The Legion itself is a slave army. That means that it maintains a very strict hierarchy and division of roles. All able bodied males become slave soldiers, with only one purpose: to fight for Caesar until they fall in battle. This simple purpose is imprinted into each legionary during his reconditioning or (if one was born into the Legion) upbringing and training. As such, each of the legionaries are unconditionally devoted to their leader, living to fight. Contrary to what one may expect, one's experience and veterancy has no bearing on his position in the Legion. While they receive better equipment and more dangerous tasks to fulfill, at the end of the day, they are still slaves, disposable tools that are discarded the moment they stop fulfilling their purpose.

Women, on the other hand, are given the role of, essentially, support corps. They are caretakers, healers, midwives and breeders, fulfilling roles essential to maintaining the Legion's continuous campaign of expansion. Caesar specifically forbids women from fighting, instead using them for the roles mentioned above. While some members of the Legion express condescending or downright misogynistic opinions of women and their non-combat roles, in reality, the segregation of genders in the Legion has only one purpose: to fully utilize the potential of both genders in the realization of Caesar's plans for humanity. As such, it is erroneous to describe the entire organization as misogynistic, when humans of both genders are nothing more than tools for their leader.

The Legion is structured after the army of the Roman Empire. The largest unit of organization in Caesar's Legion is the "Cohort", numbering about 480 infantrymen. Cohorts are further divided into "Centuriae", which contrary to their name numbers about 80 men(Accurate to the ancient Roman army as a Centuriae consisted of 80 professional soldiers and 20 noncombatants), and each Centuriae is divided into ten "tent groups" ("Contubernia"), making this the squad level of organization. Raiding parties are of this size (about eight men) and will be led by a (squad leader).

Legionaries are the main fighting force of the Legion and form the bulk of its society. Composed of capable men conscripted into service, Legionaries are expected to demonstrate the height of Roman values. Advancement in ranks is purely merit based - if a Legionary proves himself in combat, he will be promoted. If he doesn't, he'll be lucky to escape with his life.

Anyone outside the Legion ranks or under their rule is considered to be Dissolute (lacking in morals), while those that are both outside of it and hostile (usually the NCR and its subjects) are called Profligates (slightly more dissolute). Freshly caught humans are called Captures and are considered the lowest of the low. Their only right is to be tested as a slave. If they do not meet the requirements, they are killed.

are one step above Captures and consist of captured humans unfit for combat duty as a Legionary. They are expected to adhere to the virtues of a slave (Honestas, Industria, Prudentia - honesty, industry, and prudence) and follow their master's orders without questions. They are given a new name and wear rags with a light red X painted over the chest. During the Capture stage, slaves seem to be forced to wear . Later, when they have been "broken in" and transported deeper into Legion territory, the collars are removed as seen with the slaves at Fortification Hill. Children of slaves are taken from their parents after birth and placed in the care of priestesses, who raise them in keeping with Caesar's doctrine. Physically fit males are chosen to serve as Legionaries.

[] Subjects

People living under the Legion are primarily inhabitants of non-tribal communities that existed before the rise of the Legion. In their territory (Arizona, New Mexico and other areas) the Legion enslaves tribes, with exceptions made to the organized settlements of the Mojave and NCR regions since they are considered war zones. People under legion control are considered subjects, not members of the Legion proper.

Lands under Caesar's protection enjoy stability and security far greater than lands outside its sphere of influence. Traders that have to cross NCR's territories with a guard contingent can safely travel on Legion trade routes alone, without fear of being raided. People who live in Legion towns enjoy a stable, consistent flow of electricity and water, a steady and ample food supply, and very low crime and corruption levels. They enjoy safe and productive lives with one caveat: never disobey or disturb the Legion. Caesar's men only ask once and the order has to be carried out without question, even if it means resettling fifty miles away at a moment's notice. This generally means that Legion subjects have little, if any, political freedom, rights, or say in what happens to their communities. However, if one keeps quiet, goes about their business and fulfills the rare request the Legion has, then Caesar is a peaceful and caring lord. Many people don't consider this a problem, as even before Caesar's rise, they had little say in the chaotic wastes.

[] Ideology

The ideology of the society is based on the idea that, due to the weakness of humankind brought about by the atomic bombs, the chance now exists to unite the world under one flag. By using brutal and militaristic tactics, the Legion can take advantage of the weakness of the world to create one united society, and Caesar claims that the atomic bombs were sent by the god of war, Mars, for this purpose. This goal is often used by the Legion to justify their atrocities (a common tactic utilized to force submission from outsider communities) and way of life.

The main goal of the Legion is to unite humanity. They see democratic societies as tools the rich and powerful used to keep the majority of humanity in a state of constant irresponsibility. By keeping the people addicted to their consumerism, they could effectively drain them of their wealth, while keeping them in a state of being where they could not truly affect anything. This not only partially explains their disdain of alcohol and chemical stimulants, as well as pointless luxuries, it also explains why they see the majority of people as "animals", and are so quick to use violence against them. To them, "animals" are any creature that lives only to survive. Humanity, in their eyes, is defined by the ability to override that fear of death and blind will to survive. By doing so, humans can achieve goals for the betterment of all, and can work towards goals that require their own self-sacrifice.

Caesar greatly dislikes democratic societies, especially the NCR, because of their glorification of the wealthy, and not the worthy. In addition, Caesar greatly dislikes sectionalism and consumerism, because he believes they turn humans into "animals", or simple beings that live only for the sake of surviving. Because of the atomic bombs destroying the pre-War societies, Caesar believes that this is his opportunity to unite all humankind under one banner, ushering in an age where each human is judged by their merit, and given power accordingly. Because of this, the NCR and Caesar's Legion are on opposite ends of the spectrum of society. The NCR believe they can use the mercantilist nature of humankind to eventually bring peace to the wastes. While the greedy may rule now, when peace and stability come, the populace will eventually gain more and more power through reform, not unlike the middle class dominated societies of today.

Caesar, however, sees that as a curse, not a blessing. In his mind, it will turn humans into simple animals stuck in a constant state of infancy, where they live only to consume and be preyed upon by the greedy that will inevitably rule such a society. While the NCR uses their great wealth to fund research that improves the average life expectancy of their citizens, the Legion believes that their longer life comes at the cost of their humanity and purpose, and entices people to blindly try to extend their lives instead of truly living without fear of death hanging over them. This is why the Legion refuses to use medical sciences, except in rare cases. Because of their greatly different ideas of what true freedom is, the NCR and Legion will undoubtably quarrel with each other until one of them is defeated.

[] Language

Main article:

Most members of the Legion pronounce Caesar's name /ˈkaisar/. Wastelanders and members of NCR, as well as older Legion members use the Anglicized pronunciation /ˈsiːzər/. Legion members are fastidious about classical Latin pronunciations, such as pronouncing the traditional Roman greeting "ave" (hail) [ˈaweː]. Soldiers are called "legionaries" (not legionnaires, which is a modern phrase and applied to the ). Those who are liked by the Legion will be called "amicus", Latin for comrade/friend.

[] Currency

This section is from . To change it, please .

Caesar's Legion uses two types of coinage, the denarius and aureus, as their main form of currency, which were also used in Roman times. They are minted by the Legion from scavenged silver and gold, with each coin bearing the profile of . Despite Caesar's poor relations with the other factions in New Vegas, Legion currency is still accepted as payment in the , even from merchants owing to the precious metals the denarius and aureus are minted from. The exchange rate is 4 bottle caps to 1 denarius, and 100 bottle caps to 1 aureus.

The denarius (silver), which bears an image of a younger Caesar on the obverse and , and on the reverse. The inscriptions are in Latin, "Caesar Dictator" meaning "Dictator Caesar" or "Absolute Ruler Caesar" on the front and "Magnum Chasma" meaning "Great Abyss" or "Great Fissure" on the back, referring to the . The symbolism is simple - the denarius commemorates young Caesar's journey to the Canyon and his first victories as a dictator of the tribes.

The aureus (gold), which bears the portrait of the older Caesar on one side and the symbol of the 10th Legion (the bull) on the other. The inscriptions are in Latin, "Aeternit Imperi" meaning "For the eternity of the empire" on the front and "Pax Per Bellum" meaning "Peace through War" on the back.

[] Religion

In , Caesar declared himself the Son of Mars, ordered by the god to conquer all of Earth, and the cult of Mars, as well as Caesar himself is the religion followed by the Legion. Members of the Legion believe that in order to prepare the way for Caesar, Mars and it is his son's duty to save the Wasteland from barbarism and chaos. To follow Caesar is to obey the will of Mars; to disobey is to condemn oneself to death. As the Son of Mars, Caesar has the divine right to demand servitude from all he encounters.

It is not known whether any of the other Roman gods are revered as well. Most members of the Legion, excluding some of the most trusted ones, are oblivious to the fact that the Legion's culture is based on books about ancient Rome - they believe that all of the customs enforced by Caesar were dictated to him by Mars himself.

[] Military

Main article:
A veteran legionary

The entire Legion military army is led by a , who answers only to the Caesar. In addition to this, the Legion's forces have two special branches, the , who are tasked with infiltration and subterfuge, and the , whose sole role is safeguarding the Caesar. A few are also assigned to protect the Legate.

Unlike the , Legionaries are not organized by rank but by direct combat experience. The most inexperienced of them, recruits (equivalent to pre- or post-Marian auxiliary skirmishers), wear the simplest of garments and are usually marched in the front line. Survivors of multiple skirmishes can expect to be recognized as prime legionaries and considered for status, or may simply be marched in the middle of the ranks (equivalent to the pre-Marian ).

The most experienced of Legionaries, veterans (equivalent to pre-Marian ), make up the rear guard and join battle only if recruits and prime legionaries fail to meet their objectives. This practice is not a matter of rewarding elite soldiers for their service; by allowing the Legion to hold the best warriors in reserve, the practice forces an enemy weakened by previous waves to engage the fiercest Legionaries.

The main commanders, and the Legate, are also the deadliest members of the Legion. Unlike their counterparts in the NCR or any other organization, each has reached their rank through their battlefield accomplishments, and their armor reflects that fact - it is made up of trophies taken from defeated enemies. However, they rarely enter the battlefield, as they are few in number and possess essential leadership skills. The loss of a centurion will likely result in a dramatic loss of unit cohesion.

A special post in the Legion military is the (standard-bearer). The standard-bearers carry the sign of the Legion into battle and act as rally points for Legionaries.

[] Legionaries

The discipline of legionaries is absolute. In combat, they obey every order without question and if needed, will gladly sacrifice their lives. The reason for this is simple: punishment for failure is severe. Legionaries that fail will be lucky if they escape with their lives. Those that fail will often be crucified or hacked to pieces by Praetorians in front of Caesar. It is also possible that the Legate will invoke , where every tenth legionary will be beaten to death by his comrades as punishment. Life expectancy in the Legion army is low - any Legionary who can survive extended service is a formidable opponent.

While this disciplined style of warfare is extremely effective, it does create a few exploitable weaknesses. Soldiers in the legion are trained to obey their superiors in all situations; this often makes the Legion troops, especially , slow to adapt to changing battlefield situations. If the officers and veterans are eliminated, the chain of command will collapse; foot soldiers are trained to not think for themselves, so as to maximize their efficiency by removing conflict from their minds. Without leaders to direct them the grunts become disoriented and confused, ultimately rendering them easily routed or wiped out. Under the command of Chief , the NCR demonstrated and exploited these weaknesses to great effect during The .

The fitness and ferocity of legionaries matches their discipline. Generally speaking, legionaries are physically on par with , able to run as fast as the best NCR troopers at the Republic's disposal in the Mojave, close distances with frightening speed and their strength is equal to their speed. Their superior physicality makes them extremely dangerous at close ranges. As such, the Legion excels at melee combat and prefers weapons for combat. However, legionaries are pragmatic foes and are not averse to using firearms and scavenging them off of fallen foes. As such, the NCR orders soldiers to dispose of their weapons, should they receive a fatal wound (eg. by tossing them over the Dam). As such, Legionaries are more versatile than the NCR troopers in that they are skilled with both firearms and melee weapons, as well as having been trained to fight aggressively under any and all conditions, whether armed or not.

[] Military doctrine

The Legion employs an organized method of warfare. In larger battles, legionaries are deployed in waves, with recruits up front, prime soldiers behind them and veterans, the old guard, bringing up the rear. The enemy wears himself out dealing with the first two waves, with the veterans mopping up any remaining resistance when their turn comes. This is not an omnipresent, cardinal rule, however: Caesar can adapt and run any mix of legionaries as skirmishes, whilst retaining order in the ranks.

Smaller Legion raids typically involve suddenly attacking, killing everyone (sometimes taking slaves) and leaving quickly. As Lanius states, their forces are much better suited at taking positions than holding them due to their up close style of fighting. While Legion raids are often very successful, it is worth noting that the number of positions the Legion actually controls over a period of time in the Mojave is very small compared to the NCR.

[] Relations with the outside

As a single-minded, monolithic empire, the Legion's aim is to dominate the known world and unite it under its banner. In , it is locked in conflict with the New California Republic at the . Tribes that weren't pressed into it are also openly hostile to the Legion, fearing that they too will become victims of its campaign of conquest, as even with guarantees of safety and independence, Caesar has gone against his word and assimilated tribes he previously promised he'd leave alone. This causes even ruthless organizations like the to oppose the Legion in addition to organizations like the Desert Rangers. However while many "civilized" groups dislike the Legion's ways, they have great success in assimilating "tribal" groups. Tribals and their general respect for power over anything else typically side with the Legion over the NCR. Ex-tribals the Omertas and White Glove Society can ally with the Legion. The Great Khans and White Legs are also firm allies of the Legion.

often prefers to trade in Legion territories, saying that he finds it cheaper as he rarely has to hire protection or pay extortionate taxes, due to the effectiveness of Legion suppression of raiders and wasteland creatures. Even has admitted to admiring Legion-controlled areas, as they attract traders, , and communities in general to their high level of safety, especially when compared to NCR territories and uncontrolled regions.

According to , commanded Legion couriers not to kill another courier (be they Legion or not), because many couriers in fact were Frumentarii.

[] Technology

Caesar firmly believes that reliance on technology weakens humans, and was responsible for the . As such, his Legion is mostly a low-tech organization, relying on numbers, physical fitness and discipline to achieve their objectives. A typical legionary will wear armor mimicking the Roman or , usually created from pre-War sports gear (mostly if not exclusively football gear) armored with metal plates, including the helmet, worn over a tunic. In combat, they use either simple firearms (typically revolvers or lever-action rifles), , or melee weapons in the form of and , crafted from scavenged materials that mimic the ancient Roman short sword (gladius) and javelin (pilum).

However, it is incorrect to treat their technology as primitive. As simple as regular combat gear is, the Legion is capable of erecting large fortifications out of scrap (e.g. encampment) and mass producing standardized weapons and armor for its footmen. In fact, the armor and weapons of higher ranking soldiers compares favorably to the NCR. In major battles, centurions will use rather advanced weaponry such as , , and . The personal guards of Caesar themselves are equipped with high tech to complement their martial prowess.

While no Legion member wields energy weapons, they show interest in purchasing them from the . The Legion is also never shown using power armor, though pieces of what appears to be are used in armor. Oddly enough, the Legion has huge amounts of . These Stealth Boys are never seen used by legion soldiers in the Mojave, but are used by the legion at and the legion at the Divide. A high reputation with the legion will lead to a steady cache of Stealth Boys for the courier.

The only mentioned opposition to military technology is combat robots. Caesar dislikes the thought of having robots win a war fought by men. Because of this he tells the to destroy 's Securitron army, even if the Courier offers to use the technology to destroy the NCR. He has no problem with trying to repair a , for the purposes of suppressing and snipers. They occupy the station if the player decides to activate , joins the Legion as the overseer of the power plant with the comment "Hey, when in Rome, man.". The Legion appears to use radios as shown at but overall opts for devices that use no power. The Legion does not need or truly desire power sources like the NCR, but at no point oppose its usage as they do with chems, alcohol and combat robots.

[] Notes

  • Siding with the Legion can make keeping companions very difficult while following the main questline, and most human companions will likely abandon the player over time. will likely leave when the bunker is destroyed, will leave when the player kills several NCR soldiers, and will leave when your reputation with the Legion grows too high. allows the player to work with the Legion despite her dislike for them, is somewhat supportive due to their ability to provide security, and is too mentally damaged to have any opinion whatsoever. It is possible to maintain all companions through a mix of not speaking to Gannon, not traveling with Boone while killing NCR and luck in Veronica's case.
    • If the Courier is well-respected by the Brotherhood, and Veronica has never hassled the Courier for provoking the Brotherhood, then using the self-destruct password while Veronica waits in a faraway location will usually keep her from dropping you. She will instead tell you to never do it again. This is easy, as she and Paladin Sato (in the ) are the only remaining members of the Brotherhood in the Mojave Wasteland (unless you destroy the bunker at night, when the patrol is out.)
  • Although initially neutral towards the player character, Legion patrols in the are openly hostile towards most travelers, including and , and will attack them on sight.
  • The Legion's territory is known to be considerably safer than NCR territory, especially in the Mojave. Due to Legion patrols as well as their intolerance of Non-Legion groups, there is little or no raider activity in Legion-controlled territory, allowing caravans to safely travel without the fear of being attacked.
  • is readily accepted and even practiced by some high ranking officers, like . There is little discussion of this policy, but it seems to be well known as members of the are aware of it.
  • A female courier will not be allowed to fight in the arena, regardless of reputation or progress in the game.
  • While several non-player characters, such as Cass and allude to homosexuality being accepted (if not the norm) in the Legion, claims from first hand experience that homosexuality is punishable with death. It's unclear which claim is correct or how they reconcile. The best possible theory is that homosexuality isn't tolerated, but most outsiders use the concept to slander them (i.e. cracking wise about their togas being "skirts").

[] Development

A chariot with vexilla in Van Buren

The Caesar's Legion concept was created by during pre-production for canceled . then elaborated on the concept:

“

One of the few big things I did on Van Buren was taking an organization Chris invented and changing it (perhaps mangling it in the process) into a neo-Roman slavers' legion with all the weird titles, makeshift costumes, and traditions of that group.

”

According to Chris Avellone's test pen-and-paper campaign, the first fringe unit of Caesar’s Legion was planned to appear as a hostile enemy in the Train Yards. Furthermore, the and Caesar’s Legion was thought as the female and male polar opposites, which was supposed to allow the player, depending on gender, to rule either one and use them to build an army, style.

, a member of , was planned to be a spy for Caesar's Legion, reporting to their agents in , only because Caesar holds Sharptooth's sister as a slave. If this became known, the other Hangdogs would demand to banish him and his family to the wasteland. would have no qualms about doing this. Before being merged by designers with the Blackfoot tribe, Hangdog's tribe could be planned to live in northeastern Colorado, near Denver.

[] Appearances

Caesar's Legion appears only in . They were also to appear in Black Isle Studios' canceled Fallout 3, as well as Black Isle's never-realized . Caesar's Legion was also to play in a minor role in the canceled .

[] Behind the scenes

[] The system

“

Breeding issues are pretty huge in cultures that took a big step back from infant mortality progress made in the last 100-200 years. Prior to the last few centuries, infant mortality was often around 50%-ish. Child mortality (prior to age 12) was about 60%. Those are pretty awful odds of reaching adulthood.

Remember that Caesar's Legion is basically a roving army that continually breaks down and absorbs tribes that it conquers. That can only go on for so long, and Legionaries who are indoctrinated from birth are even more loyal than adolescents who are integrated. Breeding new generations of Legionaries is vital for the Legion's continued existence.

Even though breeding is incredibly important in the Legion, there isn't any concept of family outside of the Legion's structure. All of the places where the player encounters the Legion are forward camps where direct military service is given the most weight and is of the most immediate importance. Because only males are involved in that service, they look down upon females even though it's incredibly short-sighted.

”—
“

Caesar takes whatever pieces of history he finds useful and disregards things he doesn't find useful. He has specific goals and uses history as a tool to meet those goals. When history doesn't help him, he doesn't use it. Even things like a reluctance to use advanced technology have more to do with his desire to keep the Legion ignorant/dependent on him than with anything "historical". Control is very important to him, even if it means that the people who serve him lack any of the medical knowledge necessary to help diagnose or treat his problems. It's very important for Caesar to maintain that the Legion is different. It is physically different, has different values, and different priorities. When Romans were wearing pants, they thought people wearing skirts were barbarians. When Romans wore togas, they thought people wearing pants were barbarians. People on the other side of that river wear pants. Our identity is good, your identity is bad.

Clearly there are many things Caesar does that work against his goals, or choices he made to emphasize one goal over a conflicting goal and it resulted in problems. But it's important to understand that Caesar calls the shots in the Legion. And when Caesar's not around, it's someone following his lead. Whether that's Lanius or Joshua Graham, there's not going to be a fun party when one of these guys rolls into your town. Events in the vein of Tamerlane and Simon de Montfort are going to happen. Events that culminate in pyramids of human heads, mass blindings, and burning a cathedral down with an entire congregation inside.

[...]

Conquered men, women, children, elderly people -- they don't spontaneously rise up and try to kill people who abuse and oppress them. Most people are not heroic. Most people are easily terrified, especially once they have already been placed in subjugated position. And if they are heroic, they usually die heroic deaths, alone. It continues to happen all over the world. Right now, somewhere, someone is being beaten and horribly abused and even if given the opportunity to strike back at the person doing the abuse, they won't take it.

In Roman Britain, the tribes didn't stage a successful coup against the occupying forces even when given ample opportunity and more than enough reason to unite. On three separate occasions, the governor of Britain broke off from the empire. Even in a state of Roman civil war, the tribes were unable to eject the Romans. The one very notable case of rebellion was during Suetonius Paulinus' campaign in what is now Wales. The leader of the Iceni, Boudica, was beaten and her daughters were raped because Boudica challenged the transition of her late husband's authority to the Roman governor (Paulinus). Only with Londinium essentially vacated of military forces did the Iceni and Trinovantes dare to attack. They were successful in causing a huge amount of civilian damage, but in the end, Paulinus' troops rolled over the Iceni and routed them. The nearby Brigantes provided essentially no help to the Iceni and at least one source suggests Boudica may have even been poisoned by the Brigantes' queen. Someone mentioned Nero earlier; it's worth noting that all of this happened under Nero's rule and Rome still easily held Britain despite Nero's general lack of... being good as an emperor.

This pattern can be found a lot in history. It's rare for spontaneous uprisings to happen against conquerors. Or rather, it's more appropriate to say that it is extremely common for abusive occupation to go effectively uncontested for years, decades, or even centuries.

”—
“

Whether you think it's a "legit" reason or not, it's actually to ensure that the Legion breeds as many new legionaries as it can at the fastest possible rate. The way it is communicated in game often comes across as "traditionally" sexist instead of "follow these gender roles for army min-maxing".

”

[] Language

“

The pronunciation of Latin in the game is based on classical, not ecclesiastic, rules of pronunciation. While it is difficult for us to know how Latin was actually pronounced in the time of Julius Caesar, classical pronunciation assumes that the presence or absence of certain letter/sound combinations in the surviving languages of Romanized cultures can inform our understanding. The most obvious example is the name "Caesar" itself, one of the earliest Latin loan words to Germanic languages, which became "Kaiser". Another is a word Caesar himself used, "Celtæ". Greek historians used the word "Κελτοί", and there's not a lot of debate over how that's pronounced. Just as Italian doesn't follow Latin pronunciation (and in fact pretty much abandoned case, which is an enormous part of Latin -- thanks Jabby), Old French and Late Latin softened many of the Latin consonants before they entered English. Thus, we have people hissing at each other over the pronunciation of "Celt" and "celtic": Anglicized Latin words passed to us through Old French from the days of the Roman Republic, where they had been borrowed from a Greek word that was likely a self-identifying term for a tribe on the Iberian peninsula. Inappropriately, we almost always use those terms to refer to Irish people and things.

Anyhoo, generally speaking, if you find an academic textbook on Latin pronunciation these days, it's going to follow classical rules. If you're taught Latin through your local church, you may very well learn Italianate/ecclesiastic rules. Caesar learned from academic textbooks, so he passed on that tradition.

”—
“

Edward Sallow had a FotA education with all of their information resources at his disposal. All it takes is the first chapter of Wheelock's (or equivalent) and you've got pretty much all the rules for pronouncing classical Latin.

How the Legion pronounces "Caesar" is how Edward Sallow told them to pronounce it. The rest of the F:NV world pronounces "Caesar" the way most people in Pre-War America would have pronounced it.

”

[] Gallery

[] Units

  • Legion mongrels

  • Recruit legionary

  • Legionary scout

  • Legionary explorer

  • Legionary assassin

  • Prime legionary

  • Veteran legionary

  • Vexillarius

  • Decanus

  • Centurion

  • Praetorian Guard

[] Historical figures

  • (co-founder and leader of Caesar's Legion)

  • (co-founder of Caesar's Legion, first Legate once known as the "Malpais Legate" and now known as the "Burned Man")

  • (second Legate known as the "Monster of the East")

  • (Leader of the Praetorian Guard)

  • (Leader of the Frumentarii)

  • (important Frumentarius, discoverer of Hoover Dam)

  • (important centurion in charge of Cottonwood Cove)

  • (important centurion in charge of Dry Wells, conqueror of the 87th tribe)

  • (War Chief of the White Legs, destroyer of New Canaan)

[] Miscellaneous

  • reputation image in color

  • The Legionary Vexillum

[] References

  1. Ceaser's dialogue:"My Legion's expansion has never ceased. Much of the Utah and Colorado, and all of Arizona and New Mexico, are mine."
  2. ↑ "Edward Sallow created Caesar's Legion as an imitation of the Roman Legion, but without any of the Roman society that supported the Roman Legion. I've written this before, but there are no optimates, no populares, no plebes, no equestrians, no patricians, no senate, no Rome. There's no right to private property (within the Legion itself). There's no civil law. There aren't even the ceremonial trappings of Roman society. Legates don't receive triumphs following a victory. No one in the Legion retires to a villa in Sedona. It's essentially a Roman legion with only the very top commander having any connection to the "source" culture, the rest being indoctrinated conscripts from cultures that were honestly less well-developed than anything in Gaul. Gauls are pretty sophisticated compared to the 80+ tribes. Gauls could read the Latin or Greek alphabets (Gallic language, obviously), had extensive permanent settlements, roads, calendars, mines, and a whole load of poo poo that groups like the Blackfoots never had. What Caesar gave to those tribes was order, discipline, an end to internecine tribal violence (eventually), common language, and a common culture that was not rooted in any of their parent cultures. The price was extreme brutality, an enormous loss of life and individual culture, the complete dissolution of anything resembling a traditional family, and the indoctrination of fascist values. Caesar's Legion isn't the Roman Empire or the Roman Republic. It isn't even the Roman Legion. It's a slave army with trappings of foreign-conscripted Roman legionaries during the late empire. All military, no civilian, and with none of the supporting civilian culture." --
  3. "Yes, he does suggest that. He says that when the Legion dominates NCR, it will be akin to the rise of the Roman Empire following the republic. The Legion will become, if not a "peace" force, a domestic army instead of a roving war band, and the NCR's corruption will be swept away along with the government. Arcade isn't exaggerating when he suggests that Caesar views the Colorado River as his Rubicon. e: It's true that Caesar doesn't say anything explicitly about the role of women, but Caesar's view of women is different from most of the legionaries. As I wrote above, the Legion is at war, and he views the use of women for military purposes as a bad strategic choice when he could be using them to create more legionaries." -- J.E Sawyer
  4. "RE: Caesar's plans: yes, he views the Colorado River as the Rubicon and the NCR as the corrupt Roman Republic waiting to be torn down via military occupation. This is literally exactly what Julius Caesar did with Legio XIII Gemina. Other things Julius Caesar did: not leave a clear line of succession, resulting in the early fracture and borderline collapse of the nascent Roman Empire he created." -
  5. "In Caesar's view, NCR's problems have to do with the corruption of its government and what he sees as inherent flaws in NCR's republican system. All of the strategies he uses to assemble the Legion and march on NCR are means to an end, not social end goals themselves. Caesar sees NCR as Rome and his role in reforming it as Julius Caesar's role in reforming the republic (by turning it into a dictatorship). When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and returned to Rome, his legion didn't rape and enslave their way through the city. However, rape and enslavement were common in outer territories of the Roman Empire and were regularly used as tools of intimidation and labor. When Arcade "jokes" that Caesar thinks that the Colorado River is the Rubicon, he's not far from the truth." -- J.E. Sawyer,
  6. : "Put the idea of loss in him. Convince him the Bear will not be the twentieth tribe beneath his heel, it will make him pause like nothing on earth." 87 - 19 = 68 tribes assimilated before the rise of Lanius
  8. ↑ :
    The additional Legion locations would have had more traveling non-Legion residents of Legion territories. The Fort and Cottonwood Cove made sense as heavy military outposts where the vast majority of the population consisted of soldiers and slaves. The other locations would have had more "civilians". It's not accurate to think of them as citizens of the Legion (the Legion is purely military), but as non-tribal people who live in areas under Legion control. While Caesar intentionally enslaves NCR and Mojave residents in the war zone, most of the enslavement that happens in the east happens to tribals. As Raul indicates, there are non-tribal communities that came under Legion control a long time ago. The additional locations would have shown what life is like for those people. The general tone would have been what you would expect from life under a stable military dictatorship facing no internal resistance: the majority of people enjoy safe and productive lives (more than they had prior to the Legion's arrival) but have no freedoms, rights, or say in what happens in their communities. Water and power flow consistently, food is adequate, travel is safe, and occasionally someone steps afoul of a legionary and gets his or her head cut off. If the Legion tells someone to do something, they only ask once -- even if that means an entire community has to pick up and move fifty miles away. Corruption within the Legion is rare and Caesar deals with it harshly (even by Legion standards). In short, residents of Legion territories aren't really citizens and they aren't slaves, but they're also not free. People who keep their mouths shut, go about their business, and nod at the rare requests the Legion makes of them -- they can live very well. Many of them don't care at all that they don't have a say in what happens around them (mostly because they felt they never had a say in it before the Legion came, anyway).
  9. ↑
    I never said it's "good times". What I object to is elevating slave legionaries to the level of (patrician) Roman legionaries in an effort to emphasize how women alone have it bad and men are living the high life. They both have crappy lives, neither have a choice in the matter, and I'm not particularly interested in weighing the depths of misery by sex.
  10. ↑
    Why are people so obsessed with the "balance" between the different gendered roles under the Legion? I've never said it's balanced. But there is very clearly a trend among people questioning the Legion to project the concept of military service as a noble endeavor (for which one is rewarded, no less) onto legionnaires when it's never presented in that way. They are slave soldiers. Service is not voluntary, they can't retire, there are no parades and pats on the back for them. They aren't Roman patrician officers who are going to retire to a Tuscan estate when they turn 50. The only power that male legionaries have is to serve Caesar well enough to be promoted to a position of more responsibility. Nothing really comes with that additional responsibility other than increased scrutiny and better equipment (to match the increased danger). Most of my commentary on this topic has been to highlight the following:
    • Caesar's Legion is subdivided (by Caesar) based on gendered/sexed roles. These subdivisions are sexist (inherently), but they are neither misogynistic nor misandric.
    • Legionaries under Caesar are not like Roman patrician officers. They are not part of a larger society that celebrates and rewards military service with things like conference of honorific titles, triumphs, etc. All legionaries are slave soldiers, period.
    • The opinions of individual legionaries are not the opinions of Caesar. These individuals may make misogynistic comments, but those comments did not originate with Caesar, nor is there any reason to believe that he shares them, given his willingness to employ a female courier.
    If you want to weigh the individual horror of rape and forced child-bearing against forced military service for life, knock yourself out. It's two terrible ways to go through life.
  12. 's dialogue:
  13. Fallout: New Vegas ending for Caesar's Legion with Caesar alive
  14. "Gold and silver have low melting points. They don't need to mine for it if they find it in some other form." - ,
  16. : "I've never once seen a single one of them back down, or disobey an order. They'll happily charge a fortified position with little more than a sharpened stick if ordered to, and do so without hesitation."
  17. Silus: "[?] Foot soldiers of the Legion are trained to not have to think for themselves - to have conflict removed from their minds. They kill themselves to evade capture because they are not trusted to make such a decision rationally in the heat of battle. But I'm no foot soldier. I knew I could escape captivity on my own, without revealing the tiniest iota of information to my captors."
  18. Moore: "Yes, extremely so. They must use conditioning routines on par with the rangers, or better. Their soldiers can run near half again as fast as my best men, and close distances with frightening speed. And they're as strong as they are fast. Their superior physicality makes them extremely dangerous up close, so I've had the men run drills for taking on larger, stronger opponents. But they've all been instructed to take them down at range, if possible. I've made it clear I don't want any heroes in my squad, just survivors."
  19. Moore: "Their standard kit seems to be a blade of some sort and light armor. Guns are not uncommon, but are of questionable condition. While they prefer to use their blades, it's common for them to scavenge better weapons from their enemies and use those. The men have been told to toss their weapons over the side of the dam if they receive a fatal wound, but I doubt many will remember. "
  20. Hanlon: "In big battles, Caesar deploys his legionaries in waves. Recruits up front, prime soldiers behind the recruits, old guard bringing up the rear. Opponents wear themselves out dealing with the first two waves, if they survive that long. When the veterans step up, there's not much fight left. Caesar can adapt, though, and when required, he can run any mix of legionaries as skirmishers and still retain order in the ranks."
  22. crossed off of Blackfoot design document
  23. Dialogue files of the
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Caesar's Legion
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